Months ago, among the ruins of the battle against Sora, while everyone was celebrating the victory, a misshapen mass was twisting beneath the debris.
The amalgam began to wander through the city, dragging itself from one corner to another to escape both small predators and humans, until it found a perfect refuge: an abandoned house in one of the poorest neighborhoods of the island.
The creature embedded several tentacles into the earth of the ground and remained motionless.
The plant mass grew little by little until forming a rigid shell, inside of which a humanoid figure began to shape itself. With the passing of days, the figure finished structuring, maintaining upon its skin the characteristic marks of stone and wood.
«Good thing I planted the seed far from the battlefield; otherwise, I wouldn't have lived to tell the tale», Sora thought as he contemplated his new appearance.
«Although I must admit that Zein's attack caught me off guard... —he reflected as he broke the casing of the shell to stand up—. That spell... I had never seen anything like it in all my years of existence».
A sudden noise at the threshold interrupted his thoughts.
Upon turning toward the dilapidated door, Sora noticed the presence of a small visitor observing him in secret: a malnourished-looking boy.
«Does this child not fear me?», Sora questioned himself, realizing that his current figure was far from the imposing presence that used to instill terror.
Now his appearance was much closer to that of a young human. However, Sora was completely unaware of how he looked.
The child limited himself to observing him through a gap in the door. Even so, his attempts to hide were so clumsy that it was impossible for Sora to ignore his presence.
Annoyed, Sora channeled a spark of magic and summoned a dense wooden wall to block his view.
«It's for the best if he values his life», Sora thought.
But the little one didn't plan on giving up so easily.
With considerable effort, the child climbed up to peek through one of the windows of the place. Upon noticing it, Sora raised a stone wall to cover the opening for him, but the boy persisted. He went from crack to crack along the entire facade, searching for any slit to spy on him.
Sora ended up sealing every opening of the property. Unable to see inside, the child began to hit the wall trying to knock it down, making an unbearable noise.
—Get lost already! —Sora shouted at him from the inside.
Finally, after a few minutes of silence, the child's footsteps receded.
«Peace at last», Sora sighed.
However, during the following days, the little one's visits did not cease. No matter how much he tried to scare him away or block his path, the child always found a way to return. It became an absurd routine: the boy trying to sneak a glance and Sora blocking his access. In the end, tired of wasting mana, he ended up ignoring him. The child stayed there for whole hours, staring at him intently until night fell.
Until one day, the little one didn't show up.
«I wonder what happened to him...», Sora thought with an involuntary spark of concern. «Bah, better this way. Without him I have more peace».
He didn't return the next day either, nor the day after that. It wasn't until the third day that Sora perceived faint noises on the other side of the wall. It was the child.
But the child came covered in bruises and scratches. He looked quite bad; he had a swollen eye and could barely hold back his tears.
Upon seeing him, Sora turned around and went back into the house, leaving the door wide open without uttering a word.
Using some magic, he stole a fresh apple still with its leaves from a nearby market and offered it to the little one.
The child, with evident distrust, stretched out his arm slowly, took the apple, and took a first bite. Upon tasting it, a sob escaped his chest, but he made an effort to hold back his tears while eating in a hurry. Sora sat beside him and placed a hand on his head, stroking it very slowly.
Both remained in silence until the child finished eating. Sora took advantage of the moment to heal his wounds with his magic and reduce the swelling of the hits.
From then on, the routine went back to being the same. The child went to the house every day to see Sora recover energy. Even so, Sora was far from returning to his optimal state; with the appearance of a twenty-something he couldn't do much.
With the passing of time, the little one kept gaining confidence to the point of entering the house and walking around everywhere. Although it annoyed Sora a bit, he ended up letting him be.
Thus the months passed since that lost battle against Zein. The energy he accumulated remained insufficient.
—Hey —Sora suddenly spoke to him one day.
Upon hearing his voice, the child ran away terrified and took refuge outside the house. Only after several minutes did he return, peeking in with considerable nervousness.
«Do I sound that bad?», Sora thought.
—What is your name, child? —he asked him.
The little one opened his mouth slowly and tried to emit a sound, but failed to articulate any word. It seemed to cost him an enormous effort to speak.
The days followed their course. Sora began to concentrate on deciphering the nature of Zein's magic, but no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't hit the mark.
The child was extremely impressed by the spells. Every time Sora cast one, the child contemplated him with eyes shining like stars; sometimes he even tried to imitate his poses, although without any success.
One day, the little one failed to show up again.
«It's strange that he hasn't come», Sora thought. «Surely he'll return tomorrow».
But he didn't return the next day, nor the next. A whole week passed without a trace of him.
Upon reaching seven days, Sora heard noises on the other side of the entrance and let out a faint sigh of relief. However, upon peeking out to greet him, he encountered a dreadful scene.
The child was beaten to a pulp from head to toe. He brought his clothes in tatters, covered in scratches, and showed enormous bruises all over his body. The child remained standing in front of the door, his face soaked in tears.
A chill ran down Sora's spine. Immediately he stole another fresh apple with its branches and handed it to him, covering him at the same time with an old sheet he found in the house.
Suddenly, a shout rumbled loudly in the street.
—Talik! Where are you, damn brat?! —a harsh voice bellowed—. You already know the beating that awaits you if you don't show up!
Upon hearing that subject, the child dropped the apple to the ground and covered himself up to his head with the sheet, trembling from pure terror.
Upon seeing that reaction, a wave of scorching rage swept through Sora, though he managed to suppress it instantly.
He took the little one in his arms and covered them both with the cloth.
—So your name is Talik, huh? It's a good name —Sora told him in a low voice.
Talik didn't emit any sound, but he wrapped his arms around his neck, squeezing with all his strength.
—Don't worry, Talik —Sora murmured, stroking his head—. From now on you will stay with me. I am going to take care of protecting you.
Both went inside and Sora barricaded the destroyed door of the old house.
Seconds later, outside, screams of panic cut through the air of the street.
—Ahhh! There's a dead man lying right here! —the terrified neighbors exclaimed.
Many more screams followed the first one outside in the street, but Sora simply ignored them and covered the child's ears to isolate him from the noise.
The days went by and both began to live together under the same roof.
Sora made sure to get everything necessary for Talik; although by "get", he actually meant stealing from nearby stalls. The child always slept next to Sora, ate what he brought him, and spent the hours playing in the corners or fascinated watching his protector practice magic.
Sora even decided to plant a small apple tree using the seeds he saved. Thanks to him nourishing the soil with his own mana, the sprout grew at an astonishing rate.
The little one's company conveyed a feeling to Sora that he had never experienced in his existence: peace.
However, some time later, a figure wearing heavy armor stood in front of the dilapidated door.
Immediately, Talik sought refuge behind the back of Sora, who put himself on guard instantly. As soon as the door gave way, Sora summoned a sharp weapon with his magic.
—Well, well... is this how you receive an old acquaintance? —a female voice resonated from behind the metal.
—It's been a long time since I last saw that armor. How do you expect me not to put myself on guard when, using that very same gear, you tried to kill my brother and me centuries ago? —Sora responded, letting out a tense laugh.
The visitor removed her helmet with a tug, revealing rebellious strands alongside cat ears and a tail that wagged with a certain mischief.
—I knew it was you: Kio, the demon slayer —Sora stated harshly.
—Please! Don't call me that, it embarrasses me. Just call me Kio —she protested, taking off the upper pieces of her armor.
—Are you sure about taking so many liberties in front of a stranger?
—You aren't a stranger, we've known each other for centuries, haven't we? —she replied.
At that moment, Kio's gaze landed on Talik, who was clinging to Sora's body. With curiosity, she bounded over toward the little one.
—Well, what do we have here? At what point did you become a father, Sora? Although I must say the poor thing inherited nothing from you —Kio mocked.
—He doesn't look like me because he isn't my son! —Sora snapped, caught between annoyed and bewildered.
—Hahaha. I know —Kio laughed, before shaping a small earth bench with her magic to settle in—. Although I find it incredible that someone like you is living with a creature as fragile as a human child.
A dense and heavy silence took over the room.
—So then? —Kio continued, adopting a much colder and more professional countenance—. Are you going to tell me what the hell you did to end up reduced to this? Or do you prefer we settle this matter right here and I take the child to a safe place?
Sora contemplated her in silence, feeling the pressure of her presence. After hesitating for a few seconds, he loosened his fist; the summoned weapon dissolved into the air like sawdust and he ended up sitting in front of her on the floor.
—Alright —Sora yielded.